Damien Bugeja and Robbie Ball have joined Williamstown Football Club in the VFL. 70640 Picture: EMILY LANE
By Liam Twomey
HE MAY have just missed out on his AFL dream but as far as the Calder Cannons’ Damien Bugeja is concerned, that is just a temporary set back.
The classy midfielder will line-up for Williamstown in the VFL this season and is keen to put his best foot forward in the hope of joining the AFL ranks as soon as possible.
Bugeja is an inside player with good speed around the contest and good disposal. After an off-season hampered by hamstring injuries he has now resumed full training and is eager to catch up to Williamstown team-mates who are in the middle of a gruelling pre-season.
“Straight after the season finished at the Cannons I tore my hamstring. I had about six or seven weeks off and then came back and did my other hamstring so I’ve been off for about four months,” Bugeja said.
“I started running about two weeks ago so I’m just getting into it now. The first few sessions have been a bit tough but I’ll just be building up slowly and then I will be right.”
In a star-studded TAC Cup team, Bugeja proved to be a standout, capturing the best-and-fairest award and was on the radar of AFL recruiters before being overlooked.
That decision has only further fuelled his dream of playing in the AFL.
“I’m hoping this year, if everything goes well, I’ll be able to get another shot at the draft after missing out last year,” he said.
“If I can break into the VFL side and cement my spot and then hopefully at the end of the year if any clubs are interested we will see how we go.”
Bugeja is training five days a week with the Seagulls and is seeing all the benefits of life in the Western Suburbs. Williamstown’s alignment with the Western Bulldogs allows the players to use the first class facilities at Whitten Oval.
The Cannons were known for hunting in packs in the TAC Cup and that hasn’t stopped in the VFL as Bugeja will be joined by team-mate Robbie Ball at Williamstown.
Seagulls CEO Brendan Curry said the TAC Cup was a great source of finding talented young footballers.
“It’s always our aim to get the good quality TAC Cup players and that is something we have been able to do for a long time,” he said.
“Everyone is different. Some will slot into the senior side from the word go. If they are good enough we will play them. There is no set course or anything.
“To them I say don’t set any boundaries. Get in there, do the hard work, don’t be intimidated by anyone and you never know what might happen.”
